Women 2day: The silent disease you should know about

Fibromyalgia affects more women than men, but is still a common condition

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In one of the national papers last month, I read an article which took my interest.

It told the story of a woman in her mid-40s called Sarah Pollard who had suffered a mystery muscle complaint for years of her life.

Everything Sarah did became an effort and she described normal day to day functioning to be like ‘wading through a muddy field’.

Her legs felt as heavy as lead and had to shuffle instead of walk. Then her knees began to ache, causing her tremendous pain.

Sarah said: “I’d lie in bed wondering what was happening to me. Even the simplest things, like driving my children to school, became a massive chore as just holding the steering wheel made my arms ache.

“Whichever position I lay in, I felt awful pressure and discomfort. I tried painkillers but they never really took the edge off.”

Shortly afterwards, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia – an incurable condition that causes widespread muscle pain and fatigue.

I knew virtually nothing about this disease before, but when I looked into it, I discovered that it is actually a surprisingly common and chronic disorder that is more common in women than men.

The word ‘fibromyalgia’ comes from the Latin term for fibrous tissue (fibro) and the Greek for muscle (myo) and pain (algia).

Between 80 and 90% of people diagnosed with this condition are women, according to the National Institute of Health.

This may have something to do with hormones, immune system differences, or genes, but researchers still aren’t exactly sure why women get fibromyalgia in greater numbers than men.

Although fibromyalgia is often considered an arthritis-related condition, it is not strictly a form of arthritis because it doesn’t cause inflammation or damage to the joints, muscles, or other tissues.

However, like arthritis, fibromyalgia causes significant pain and fatigue, and it can interfere with a person’s ability to carry on daily activities. Also like arthritis, fibromyalgia is considered to be a rheumatic condition that impairs the joints and causes chronic pain.

But what causes it? The root of it is generally unknown, but recent evidence has suggested it is associated with abnormalities in the central nervous system processing of pain.

Fibromyalgia sufferers develop an increased response to pain and can experience pain from non-painful stimuli such as touch.

Others may also experience fatigue, sleep disturbances, stiffness, deep tenderness, soreness and achiness, as well as increased headaches or facial pain, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness and problems multitasking. It is not an easy way of life.

I asked one Chronicle reader who has suffered from fibromyalgia for more than 15 years, how it has affected her day-to-day life since she was first diagnosed in 1997.

She explained how she had visited numerous doctors and hospitals after experiencing puzzling symptoms following a flu vaccine.

“I thought I was having a stroke’, she said of her symptoms at the time. “I generally felt unwell after having the flu vaccine and felt severe neck pain, and tingling in my hands like electric shock.

“Both my hands became very swollen and very red and hot; I also had neck pain and headaches which left me unable to sleep.”

Eventually, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and was heartbroken when the condition forced her to give up working at the job she loved.

Since then, she has learned to adapt to life with her discomfort, which often leaves her with such overwhelming tiredness, she wants to cry tears of frustration.

“I take each day as it comes with the pain but I try and just get through my day,” she explains.

“People who have fibromyalgia also suffer other common conditions, and I also have severe osteo-arthritis in all my joints which highlights the pain, so I try and plan my days, leaving a day in between to rest if I need to go shopping, for example, something many people do without a thought.”

But more awareness is needed, she says, on this condition which is said to be common, but still relatively unknown. How many people actually know about fibromyalgia?

“To look at me, I look normal,” she says. “If I’m in a chair or a walking aid, then people can see I have a disability, but without any aids, you’re just a shadow really.

“My advice to anyone who thinks they may have a condition like fibromyalgia is to find a good GP who will listen.

“They will help with any medication you need for pain relief or any depression that you may be in.

“Swimming can be very soothing, even just moving in the water helps your ligament soft tissue, and keeping warm hot water bottles on any sore points.

“But as well as this, finding a local support group near you or online is also really helpful – I belong to two groups where we can talk openly with each other and know we’re not alone, we’re not suffering in silence. That is so important.”

To find out more about fibromyalgia, visit the website for the disease’s national charity at www.fmauk.org.

FIBROMYALGIA - THE FACTS

Formerly called fibrositis, fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes widespread pain, stiffness, and tenderness of muscles, tendons, and joints.

It is non-life-threatening and does not cause body damage, deformity, or injury to internal body organs, but the symptoms can be debilitating and leave the sufferer feeling as though they have to really push themselves to get anything done.

Many people with fibromyalgia often describe their symptoms as a flu-like infection that doesn’t go away.

It can leave you exhausted, but have trouble sleeping and wake up feeling stiff and achy.

The top 10 symptoms of fibromyalgia are:

Aches and pain all over

Fatigue

Sleep difficulties

Brain fog

Morning stiffness

Muscle knots, cramping, weakness

Digestive disorders

Headaches/migraines

Balance problems

Itchy/burning skin

Fibromyalgia occurs in people of all ages, even children (although this is rare) and many men develop it too, but it is most common in women.

Its symptoms are chronic but may fluctuate throughout the day.

It is estimated that about 2-5% of the UK population suffers from the condition, that’s between 1.2 and 2.7 million people, and roughly one-quarter of people with fibromyalgia are work-disabled.